New York: A new pre-operative drug therapy to reduce antibodies in kidney patients may increase their chance for kidney transplantation and decrease the likelihood of organ rejection, says a study.

The new therapy was found to reduce antibodies with greater success than with traditional methods in a clinical trial spanning over three years.

"This study is important because it has the potential to change the way we approach kidney transplantation," said the study's principal investigator, E Steve Woodle from University of Cincinnati.

Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins which, in most instances, are good because they help fight infection, but people can also make antibodies that work against other humans, which is often a major barrier to transplantation.

Since 2008, the researchers have been on forefront of developing therapies that target plasma cells--the cells that make antibodies.

These new therapies used bortezomib, a drug already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of multiple myeloma, a type of cancer.